Kerry Apology, Sort Of

Even though you’d swear that the usual culprits in the mainstream media had initially self-imposed a collective news blackout concerning the recent Sen. John Kerry blunder of implying to California college students that, if they don't study hard and get a good education, they might “get stuck in Iraq,” you can bet that the rest of the country was—and still is—quick to talk about it. One side seems to be saying, “See, I told you so! This is how the Left and how most Democrats feel about our military!” The other side, by their earlier deafening silence, either agreed with the Massachusetts politician’s comments or couldn’t stomach the guts or integrity to call him out on the same. (I guess the Republican Party is the only major political party that “eats its own.”)

Three things are for sure no matter how you slice the story up: one, you can see how the mainstream press is doing all it can to make this event a non-story (chalking it all up, instead, to more “right-wing politics” on the eve of mid-term elections); two, Sen. Kerry waited over 24 hours to offer any legitimate, sensible, or unequivocal apologies to the men and women serving in today’s Armed Forces and the veterans who served before them—then seemingly offered said apologies begrudgingly; and, three, the Democratic Party leaders and political front-runners before the November 7 elections will avoid even hinting at—like a vampire avoids the proverbial deadly garlic—that John Kerry may have, indeed, meant exactly what he said about the U.S. military as much as a vampire fears the proverbial garlic.

Though, if one were to peruse a number of blogs in the wake of Kerry’s comments, they might be surprised—then, again, maybe not—to read many a Democratic Party sympathizer or leftist not only defending the senators remarks, but proud for someone finally standing up and speaking the truth, at least as far as they understand it to be, when it comes to military service, good grades in school, and employment options.

Mr. Kerry claims that, while making the comments he’s now being called on the carpet for, he was simply referring to the current Commander in Chief (President Bush)—as in, “you might get stuck in Iraq (if you don’t study hard and get good grades);” however, this makes no sense at all upon further inspection, since, if we follow Sen. Kerry’s logic, if one were to study hard and get good grades, they would certainly not end up fighting with the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq, but have the option of pursuing a more safe, prestigious, or respectable occupation back on the mainland. (Italics added to emphasize how Sen. Kerry and most of the Left, along with the leadership of today’s Democratic party, probably view any post in the U.S. military anyway.)

So, if John Kerry was referring to President Bush in this matter all along—as he originally claimed he was—the last time I checked, George W. Bush did, indeed, not only graduate from a major university (Yale), but—let the record show—earned higher marks than either Sen. Kerry or one former vice president and presidential candidate, Albert Gore, garnered—both of whom seem to never grow weary of or run out of material painting the president as some sort of dunce or dummy.

Correct me if I’m wrong, Sen. Kerry, but the president is not conducting business in Iraq (not physically, at least, though we have to admit that the buck does stop at his desk, as well it should). On the other hand, if Sen. Kerry meant that lacking proper study habits and good grades might land one, as a leader of the most powerful nation on earth, “bogged down” in Iraq due to misguided foreign policies—then the senator would have certainly bode well to just come out and said what he meant, instead of leaving his backfired “joke” open for all kinds of interpretations.

And, to make matters worse for him and those Democratic candidates hoping to endear themselves to military families and those who support their efforts, what does he focus on during his initial press conference on this matter? He feeds us all the same old singsong knee-jerk reaction whenever a Democratic politician is caught red handed and is desperately seeking a way to turn the light of truth from themselves—he implies that he is an outright victim of the evil vast right-wing conspiracy, headed up by the all-powerful, all-knowing Darth-Karl Rove and his conniving GOP minions from the Dark Side.

Recent developments give us hope, though, that a smidgen of conscience—or perhaps it’s more of a matter of political survival—may still exist in the Democratic Party.

In a blog entry that appears at his JohnKerry.com Web site, the junior senator from Massachusetts offers this statement:

“As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.

“I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted (italics added for emphasis) to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.”

Not to disappoint us, Kerry's mea culpa continues with an attack on the Bush administration:

“It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.”

Kerry's low-key apology stands in sharp contrast to his vocal press conference Tuesday, October 31, in which he blasted his critics for even implying that his comments were controversial.

Perhaps the apology came after some arm-twisting from members of his own Democratic Party less than one week before the midterm elections. Since the story broke, leading Democrats have been trying to distance themselves from Kerry's comments, including Sen. Hillary Clinton, who eventually had to call his comments “inappropriate.” (After all, no front-running presidential candidate wants to see themselves branded as anti-military between now and ’08. She had to say something to separate herself from the Kerry “stuck-in-Iraq” debacle, if only volunteering a word here or there.)

Bottom line, whether one believes the Bush doctrine in Iraq (and Afghanistan, for that matter) are worthy, a waste of time, or misguided at best, should be irrelevant in this matter. If one were to research this on the Internet, for example, they would clearly discover that those serving in today’s Armed Forces are not only some of this country’s bravest and most courageous citizens, but also some of America’s most-educated and academically-honored men and women…period!

Shame on Senator Kerry for even implying—then immediately backtracking from the same—that those who constantly put their lives on the line in dangerous situations are uneducated, go-nowhere morons who have nowhere else to turn to, other than the military, in order to make a decent living. Let’s all remember that those serving their country today volunteered to do what they do; they have chosen to take their diplomas, degrees, and doctorates to the front lines, and wherever else they are called, so that those who would rather talk their enemies into surrender can enjoy the freedom to trash our fighting forces and the war they now find themselves a part of.

As a nation, we were right to demand a sincere and full-out apology from the Massachusetts senator to our troops. Whether or not we got that, however, is up for debate.

"Grateful Americans, like me—who are the beneficiaries of soldiers, airman, sailors and marines alike who have spilled their blood, lost limbs, lost lives for freedom and the homeland’s security—solicit nothing more than the utmost respect for our men and women in uniform, Senator Kerry. Our troops and veterans deserve nothing less."

WHAT ABOUT THE VETERANS ‘JOHN’??

This is an apology?????????

johnkerry.com offers this halfheartedly apology to our dimwitted troops in Iraq and their underprivileged families.

“As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop. I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended. It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.”

John, you apologized to 140 thousand troops and their families. What about the thousand upon thousands of Veterans who have served in uniform since you disgracefully entered the political scene some thirty years ago and began your harangue against the dimwitted, uneducated military members. You, Sir, are a disgrace to the uniform you wore during your three month tour in Vietnam while lost in Cambodia. I, for one, will never forget your disgraceful testimony before Congress while in uniform while our Country was at war. You managed to bamboozle the good citizens of Massachusetts but you haven’t bamboozled this veteran from the Vietnam era, Senator Kerry. Tom, Colonel, USAF (Retired) – a holder of a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Master of Science in Business Management, a graduate of Air Force Air Command and Staff College and a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces

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Kerryism [Victor Davis Hanson]

Kerry surely must be one of the saddest Democratic liabilities around. Some afterthoughts about his latest gaffe, which is one of those rare glimpses into an entire troubled ideology:

(1) How could John Kerry, born into privilege, and then marrying and divorcing and marrying out of and back into greater inherited wealth, lecture anyone at a city college about the ingredients for success in America? If he were to give personal advice about making it, it would have to be to marry rich women. Nothing he has accomplished as a senator or candidate reveals either much natural intelligence or singular education. Today, Democrats must be wondering why they have embraced an overrated empty suit, and ostracized a real talent like Joe Lieberman.

(2) How could Kerry possibly claim that he was thinking of the uneducated in the context of George Bush, who, after all, went to Harvard and Yale?

(3) Some of the brightest and most educated Americans are not only in the military, but veterans of Iraq. Two of the best educated minds I have met-Col. Bill Hix and Lt. Col. Chris Gibson, both Hoover Security Fellows-were both Iraqi veterans. What is striking about visiting Iraq is the wealth of talent there, from privates to generals. Without being gratuitously cruel, the problem of mediocrity is not in the ranks of the military, but on our university campuses, where half-educated professors and non-serious students killing time are ubiquitous. Personally, I'd wager the intelligence of a Marine Corps private any day over the average D.C. journalist. Every naval officer I met at the USNA, without exception, seemed brighter than John Kerry, whose "brilliance", after all, has managed to offend millions of voters on the eve of a pivotal election. If the Democrats lose, it will be almost painful to watch the recriminations against Kerry fly.

(4) This is not the first, but third, time he has denigrated soldiers in the middle of a war-and there is a systematic theme: John Kerry's assumed superior morality allows him to pass judgment from on high about supposedly lesser folk who become tools of a suspect military: thus we go from limb-loppers and Genghis' hordes to terrorists to dead-beats. The only constant is that the haughtiness is always delivered in the same sanctimonious, self-righteous, and patronizing tone.

(5) The mea culpa that Democrats are blaming the war and not the warriors is laughable after Sens. Durbin, Kennedy, and Kerry have collectively compared American soldiers to Nazis, Pol Pot's killers, Stalinists, terrorists, and Baathists.

(6) The problem is that Kerry is not just a senator, but the most recent presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, and thus in some sense, especially given the diminution of Howard Dean, the megaphone of the entire party.

(7) His pathetic clarification, as he blamed everyone from Tony Snow to Rush Limbaugh, displayed the same Al Gore derangement syndrome, and thus raises a larger question: what is it about George Bush that seems to reduce once sober and experienced liberal pros to infantile ranting?

(8) And why is the supposedly lame Bush so careful in speech, and the self-acclaimed geniuses like a Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, or Howard Dean serially spouting ever more stupidities? For all the Democrats' criticism of George Bush, I can't think of a modern President who has so infrequently put his foot in his public mouth, and, by the same token, can't think of any opposition that on the eve of elections seems to have an almost pathological death wish.

The Democrats should use this occasion to have an autopsy of Kerryism, or this strange new tony liberalism, that has turned noblisse oblige on its head. It used to be that millionaire FDRs and JFKs felt sympathy for those of the lower classes and wished to ensure that the hoi polloi had some shot at the American dream. But today's elite liberals-a Howard Dean, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, George Soros, Ted Turner-love the high life and playact at being leftists simply because they are already insulated from the effects of their own nostrums that always come at someone poorer's expense while providing them some sort of psychological relief from guilt. Poor Harry Truman must be turning over in his grave-from bourbon, cigars, and poker to wind-surfing and L.L. Bean costume of the day says it all.

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